Ctg's 'double' delight
Sabbir claims a hattrick
Sports Reporter
Chittagong become the only team to emerge victorious in both forms of the Mirzapore Tea Fifth National Cricket League when they defeated Rajshahi by two wickets yesterday. On the other hand Khulna and Dhaka both suffered setbacks in the limited-overs competition after winning their opening four-day games against Sylhet and Barisal. Unheralded Barisal stunned star-studded Dhaka with an exciting one-wicket victory over the Khaled Mahmud men's at the Dhanmondi Cricket Stadium while hosts Sylhet took sweet revenge against Khulna with an emphatic 101-run victory. CHITTAGONG V RAJSHAHI Off-spinner Sabbir Khan recorded the first hattrick of the 50-over contest as Chittagong completed a 'double' over Rajshahi at the Comilla Stadium, where they posted an eight-wicket win the other day. The lanky BKSP product achieved the milestone after dismissing the last three Rajshahi batsmen Rezwanul, Shahjada and Saifullah with the final three deliveries of the innings. His mop-up operation restricted Rajshahi to 218. Sabbir eventually finished with 4-33. Faisal Hossain and Masum-udullah scored half-centuries as Chittagong reached the target with three balls to spare in a nail-biting finish. Opener Masum top-scored with 65 that included three boundaries while Faisal continued his rich vein of form with a 93-ball 64 that featured two sixes and three fours. Faisal scored 164 runs in the two innings of the four-day match that included an unbeaten 99 in the first innings. Chittagong will now move to Dhaka to play their second match from December 18-22. DHAKA V BARISAL Poor batting shattered Dhaka's hopes of finishing their first game on a high at the Dhanmondi Cricket Stadium. The home side was bundled out for 140 in 43 overs after being put in to bat by Barisal skipper Anisur Rahman. Dhaka fought tooth and nail in defence of the less than impressive score until the penultimate over when Tariqul Islam decisively swung the game Barisal's way. Needing 12 runs from the last two overs Tariqul scored 10 out of the 11 runs conceded by off-spinner Fahim Muntasir in the 49th over. The right-hander struck two magnificent boundaries to tie the scores before Mustadir Litu, who made a valuable 26 batting at number seven, finished the chase in style hitting a boundary through point region with the second ball of the last over bowled by Sanwar Hossain. One-down Faruque Kamal top-scored for Barisal with 34 off 69 balls while opener Ershadur Rahman made 28. Earlier, Barisal captain Anisur Rahman made the most of his decision to bowl first. The former national left-arm paceman did the early damage sending back three top Dhaka batsmen to leave the hosts tottering at 22-4. Dhaka made a brief comeback through Naimur Rahman's fighting 43 before being tragically run out following a misunderstanding with his former BKSP mate Neeyamur Rashid. SYLHET V KHULNA Away at the Sylhet Stadium, it was the turn of Khulna to eat humble pie after being knocked out for 88 while chasing Sylhet's total of 189. The chief wrecker was Sanjid Sami who claimed four for 22. Besides, Mohammad Rana took three for 36 to help blow Khulna away. Earlier Sylhet batting first rode on a half-century by Nasirul Alam Nahid. In the longer-version affair Khulna had the satisfaction of dismissing their opponents for just 80 runs in the first innings.
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